The Kick-off of PEPR FutuRE

PEPR FutuRE kick-off meeting

The PEPR FutuRE – Future energy networks / Réseaux énergétiques du futur kick-off meeting took place on the 1st of June 2026 at INSA Lyon. Coordinated by Grenoble INP-UGA, this programme aims to develop an integrated approach combining experimentation, advanced simulation and large-scale validation in order to better understand, manage and ensure the safety of future decarbonised energy systems.

PEPR FutuRE aims to develop a leading national infrastructure for research into the multi-vector energy systems of the future. The programme is positioned against a backdrop of profound transformation in energy systems, characterised by the increasing electrification of energy use, the large-scale integration of renewable energy, the development of energy flexibility, and the challenges of technological sovereignty and cybersecurity.

The PEPR FutuRE programme will comprise of two separate, but intrinsically linked, projects :

• FutuRE.Net aims to establish a national network of interoperable experimental platforms capable of replicating complex scenarios involving different energy carriers — electricity, heating, cooling, storage or electric mobility — across multiple sites and at multiple scales.
• FutuRE.Smart will develop a new generation of software tools dedicated to the modelling, optimisation, predictive management and planning of multi-energy systems. These tools will incorporate issues relating to uncertainties, interactions between infrastructure and cyber security, whilst enabling experimental validation on the interoperable platform developed as part of FutuRE.Net.

The FutuRE PEPR programme will also play a key role in the development of research-based training in the field of the energy transition. The FutuRE.Smart project in particular, will fund 15 PhD theses as well as several postdoctoral research posts, thereby helping to train a new generation of researchers and engineers capable of tackling the growing complexity of multi-carrier and cyber-physical energy systems.

With a budget of 17 million euros over five years, the PEPR FutuRE brings together several of France’s leading research laboratories with expertise in the fields of electricity grids, heating networks, energy modelling, the interoperability of experimental platforms and the cybersecurity of critical infrastructure. The consortium involves the University of Grenoble Alpes, the BRGM, CEA, the CNRS, CentraleSupélec, the University of Corsica, INSA Lyon, Mines Paris – PSL, and Nantes University.

The Kick-off meeting that took place in Lyon marks the official start of the programme where scientific exchanges and details of the infrastructure involved were discussed, in addition to the details of the first use cases and collaboration strategies between the partner institutions.